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Petition launches in opposition to bills that restructure East Baton Rouge school district

senate education committee.jpg

The Senate Education Committee heard testimony Wednesday from East Baton Rouge school principals who oppose a bill that would restructure the district and give them more autonomy. On Thursday, a petition was launched to oppose the legislation.
(Diana Samuels, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Saying they don't want Baton Rouge children to become "business pawns," a local parent and community group has launched a petition opposing legislation to restructure the East Baton Rouge Parish School System.

The legislation, which had its first hearing in a Senate Education committee meeting Wednesday, was developed by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and is sponsored by state Reps. Steve Carter, R-Baton Rouge, Dalton Honore, D-Baton Rouge, and state Sen. Bodi White, R-Central. There are four total bills, which reduce the size of the school board and aim to give more autonomy to principals.

Representatives of One Community, One School District testified against one of the bills at Wednesday's hearing, and on Thursday launched a petition opposing the legislation.

"It is regrettable that BRAC did not seek input from the parents and stakeholders of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System before writing legislation that will undermine all of the progress that has been made in our school system by breaking it into many autonomous pieces," the group posted on Facebook. "By signing this petition, you will send the clear message that you will not be ignored and you will not allow any of the children in our schools to be business pawns."

The petition had about 60 signatures as of 4 p.m.

The petition lays out some of the central arguments likely to be used in opposition to the bills as they make their way through the legislative process. Here's a summary of those issues, along with responses from Michael DiResto, BRAC's senior vice president for economic competitiveness.

- One Community, One School District says that by reducing the number of school board members from 11 to 7, the legislation would dilute minority representation on the board in favor of whiter, wealthier representatives. There are currently protections in place that, for example, stipulate that because the city of Baton Rouge is more densely populated, the board seats assigned to the city should be proportionate to the population. Those protections would be removed under the legislation.

DiResto says that research around the country has shown that having smaller school boards makes them more effective. The district and current school board would decide the boundaries for the new board, so anything that's not equitable is unlikely to get approved.

- The bills would set up a common enrollment system for East Baton Rouge traditional schools and charter schools. One Community, One School District raises concerns about how this has worked in New Orleans, saying that students there are expected to attend the school they're assigned to for an entire year, regardless of whether they and their parents like it, unless they petition the school board for a transfer. That inhibits choice, the group says.

DiResto argues the opposite, saying that having a common enrollment process improves choice. It offers parents one place where they can get all the information they need about their options for publicly-funded schools in the parish.

- The bills specify that student funding must follow each student to their school, and that only 3 percent of the money can be retained for district administrative services. One Community, One School District says this restricts the district's ability to pay for specialized programs like services for students with disabilities and magnet schools.

The intent of that part of the legislation is actually exactly what One Community, One School District is looking for, DiResto says: equity, and the ability for funds to follow students with disabilities or students who qualify for free and reduced lunch. He said the language of that part of the bill is being worked on to clarify it further.

- Under the legislation, principals would have the ability to decide whether they want to offer transportation or free and reduced lunch services -- which means they could opt not to, One Community, One School District says.

DiResto says that's a misunderstanding of the bill's language. Schools would still have to provide those services. Principals just have the option of whether they want to handle that themselves, or have the district office do that for them.

- Education policy would be decided by principals, not the school board, if the bills pass as written. One Community, One School District says that will "weaken the democratic control of our schools." Currently, school board officials can serve as parents' advocates in a district, and provide an overall vision for education policy. The bills would segment that, allowing principals to decide on their own programs without considering the larger community or what's being taught at other nearby schools, the group says.

The best schools are already relying on their principals to make those kinds of decisions on education policy, with the support of the district and superintendent, DiResto argues. The bill strengthens that.